IPL 2017: Match 10: Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Wednesday, April 12th
8:00pm IST
The Fortress. Replace brick and wooden walls with high metal beams. Instead of a moat for an entrance, imagine 5 highly manned security checkpoints and instead of seeing flaming arrows flying in all directions, as the occupants try to defend their precious fortress, look out for the flaming sixes flying off the bats of Jos Buttler, Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma. The Wankhede Stadium is truly a ‘fortress’, ironically one where defending is all but impossible.
The Sunrisers are tough to hate. They play good, hard cricket and what’s more, their players are just so damn likeable. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is India’s blue-eyed boy, at least where fast bowlers are concerned. Ashish Nehra’s resurgence has gained him plenty of fans around the country and their captain, David Warner is loved throughout India with the same sort of affection thrown at AB de Villiers. They’ve looked in excellent knock so far with 2 thumping wins. However, these are possibly the conditions that favour them the least, and will be have to struggle to beat Mumbai at their dewy home.
Team Form:
Mumbai Indians: W (KKR) L (RPS)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: W (GL) W (RCB)
Team News:
Mumbai Indians are running high on confidence after the heroics of Nitish Rana and Hardik Pandya. They will go into the match possibly unchanged, with Ambati Rayudu still out injured. They will look to curb the runs, and Mitchell McClenaghan’s poor economy rate will be important to their efforts. Their bowling, with the experience of Malinga and Harbhajan, the nous of Bumrah and the skiddy offspin of Krunal Pandya is extremely effective at the Wankhede stadium. The batting hasn’t been entirely convincing, but the emergence of Nitish Rana and lower order resistance from Hardik Pandya have been encouraging. The bowling, which will need to perform well despite the onset of dew, will be key to Mumbai’s chances at sealing a home win against a confident Hyderabad.
The Sunrisers are always strong, but in Mumbai, their players will need to accelerate quickly and contributions from David Warner, Moises Henriques, Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh at strike rates of 150+ will be essential if they want to stand a chance against Mumbai, who are excellent in home conditions. Their bowling, which looks formidable with the addition of the Fizz, might not be as effective as it usually is with the dew the Wankhede is famous for. The effectiveness of Bhuvneshwar Kumar is doubted, while Ashish Nehra has showed in the World T20 and the 9th edition of the IPL that his effectiveness is not hampered by the dew. Furthermore, the skiddy leg-breaks of Rashid Khan could mirror the effect Krunal Pandya had on KKR a few days back. Seeing if Mustafizur can control his signature cutter will be interesting. Overall, it can be said that the Wankhede does not play to the Sunrisers’ strengths, and could prove costly to what has been a spotless season so far.
Pitch and Weather Report:
It seems that monsoon comes early to the Mumbai outfield, as a thick layer of dew makes the Wankhede wetter than the recently concluded New Zealand vs South Africa series. The pitch is flat, with a little bit of bounce, allowing the ball to come onto the bat nicely. The weather will be hot and humid, with the mercury balancing in the mid-thirties. Rain is not expected, but serene sea breezes from the stadium’s western end are expected until dark.
Teams (probable):
Mumbai Indians: 1. Jos Buttler 2. Parthiv Patel (wk) 3. Rohit Sharma (capt.) 4. Nitish Rana 5. Kieron Pollard 6. Hardik Pandya 7. Krunal Pandya 8. Mitchell McClenaghan/Mitchell Johnson 9. Harbhajan Singh 10. Jasprit Bumrah 11. Lasith Malinga
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Moises Henriques, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Naman Ojha (wk) , 7 Bipul Sharma, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Match Prediction:
Despite an excellent show of form by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, playing in Mumbai is a different predicament. Anything is possible at the Wankhede, to the point that the chase of 230 is but a distant memory for Mumbaikars. Mumbai’s home strength, coupled with a muted Sunrisers attack (thanks to the conditions in Mumbai) puts Mumbai as favorites ahead of the contest. However, it is felt that the team chasing will come out on top, due to the 23-3 record chasing teams have at this venue.
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Vedant Jain is a contributor at CricMetric. For any queries or information, email vedantja@usc.edu